coca cola

Today I read an article about what Coca Cola does to your body after it is consumed (see info-graphic below). It’s frightening to think children are drinking these sodas sometimes daily. I’ve made a conscious effort to decrease the amount of coke (I’m from Texas, where everything is a coke) I drink purely because I realized how much sugar was in it! Drinking one Coca-Cola will give you 100% of your daily recommended sugar intake. WHAAAT?

I watched the documentary, Fed Up on Netflix and they compared picking a diet coke over a regular coke to picking lite cigarettes over regular (they’re just as bad for you). This really made me think before I picked up my last can of Diet Coke. If you haven’t seen the documentary yet, I suggest you do. Check out the trailer for it below:

As a future educator I think having healthy options for snack time is essential. With that, I also think it’s important for teachers to eat healthy food as well (not only for your own health!) to set an example for students. What would a student think if a teacher spent all afternoon talking about how great bananas are for the body and then the student sees the teacher chowing down on some T-Bell and a 32 oz coke at lunch time? No, no. Research healthier options and learn to cook in the class, how fun is that?! Plus you can get some great math, science and literacy standards in there (:

My last part of this rant will go back to the coke. We must stop this trend of teaching children sugar is a reward and/or treat. We must stop giving students candy when they finish something. We must stop rewarding them with food period. Food is a basic necessity and should NEVER be used as a reward.

Please take a look at the info-grafic below. I know the letters are small, but if you click on it the image enlarges.